The basilar papilla is the auditory sensory organ of lizards, amphibians, and birds, which is analogous to the Corti in mammals.
The basilar papilla is composed of cells called "hair cells" which are actually epithelial cells rather than true hairs. These sensory cells, according to some studies, are related to the type II sensory cells in the vestibular epithelium of mammals. These auditory hair cells, unlike those in mammals, are known to spontaneously regenerate following injury, with experimental evidence showing that this ability to proliferate is mediated by a micro-RNA called miR181a.